Fed II Star newsletter - masthead The weekly newsletter for the Fed II game by ibgames

EARTHDATE: May 7, 2006

OFFICIAL NEWS
Page 10

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ON THE WEB: THE MARTIAN SURFACE

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft which recently arrived in orbit around Mars has a gadget called the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment - it's basically a super-powerful camera with a very high resolution.

Last month, as it came into orbit, it took a photo with a resolution of about 2.5 meters per pixel, recorded from a range of about 2,500 kilometers out. You can see this amazingly detailed picture of the surface on the Astronomy Picture of the Day web site.

In the coming months, it will get closer and closer to Mars until its orbit is only 280 kilometers, and at that distance the HiRISE experiment should be able to take pictures at a resolution of 28 centimeters (11 inches) per pixel. That should be something really special!


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